Nord Stage / Accessing Acoustic Pianos ?

[LX88]

Hello

 

There is a Nord Stage at my local Guitar Center, which actually might be an EX or something. I think it is the newest issue nonetheless.

 

I have been somewhat baffled by it however. I seem to not be able to get to the basic acoustic piano sounds, and also some of the EP's.

 

So my question is ...how I get to the AP's and EP's and what are the good sounds that the Stage offers.

 

I have actually been considering the Nord Piano 88 since there have been some very good deals on them , but there aren't any around me ( to demo) that I am aware of. So I am checking out the Stage to see if I like the Nord approach to acoustic piano simulation.

 

I am getting a mish mash of possiblities when I try to access sounds but am getting no dedicated category for Acoustic, Electric etc. I am baffled by the layout once again ( as I was with Yamaha CP5 and CP50). Help!

[Joe Muscara]

I own an Electro 2, yet I am befuddled by the interface of the Stage. My only suggestion would be to do what I plan to next time I plan on trying one, RTFM.

[dazzjazz]

Check out the manual - from what I've read the hierarchy is:

 

5 Banks of

20 Pages of

5 programs, each containing

two slots

 

There is also a category sort mode.

 

I'm getting a Stage 2 88 this week, which I'm hoping to have ready by the weekend for a jazz band doing a wedding gig.

 

PM me on Friday perhaps...

 

Darren

 

 

[Dave Ferris]

If it's the Stage 2, the Bosendorfer will be the first piano sound and the first de-fault sound you pull up. I don't own one but have played it in the store about 8 x now. You can toggle through the banks like Darren said or just use that big knob just to the right of the readout screen to scroll through...that's what I do. I agree it's perplexing-at least to someone like me- but I guess after you own one and sit with it , it becomes easier.

 

In any case if it is the NS2, the Bosie will come up first, then grand lady d and then Yamaha Studio 2 grand....just keep scrolling. To get the newest yamaha bright grand sample you have to download it from their site.

[LX88]

I am glad to know that I am not the only one befuddled by it.

 

When you go into Guitar Center, you are unlikely to ever be able able to get your hands on a manual, let alone get help from anyone who works there. Most of them don't know the first thing about it.

 

You would think that it could be easy to separate the sounds ala the Nord Electro but that has not been the case for me.

 

 

[LX88]

For some reason it posted the same thing twice . Edit.

[Tonysounds]

If you want to check the piano sounds, there are a few different methods. (And this is actually really very helpful, and flexible.)

You can scroll through the presets using the round dial.

 

Or, you can just check out the Piano presets as a group, by accessing the Category Search function, which is to the right of the Round Dial. Im at work, so I cant verify, but you may or may not need to hold the Shift button before hitting the Category Search button (the right of that pair of buttons near the dial). Once the Category LED is lit, use the left/right buttons to get to PIANO, then use the rotary dial to check out those piano presets.

 

Or you can just go to LIVE mode, enact the Piano section, and then use the Piano Select button to audition the raw piano sounds. Keep in mind that stores (especially Guitar Center/Sam Rash) dont generally update their keyboards, so the piano sounds in there likely will not reflect anything different than what was installed at the factory, and that may be outdated at this point. Check to see if the piano samples are Med or LGE, as this too will have an impact.

 

As a someone on this list who NOTORIOUSLY had real issues with Nords pianos, I can honestly say I love my Stage 2, and have had it long past the point where I would have sold/traded/abandoned it. In fact, I have no spare, as I sold my S90es keyboards, so Im rather committed at this point, which should tell you something. And I found that what was the best sounding pianos unaccompanied were not necessarily the ones I liked the most in a band setting, although the Bosendorfer Large and C7 Bright (I think) are the ones Im liking a lot these days along with the Black Upright and the Saloon piano.

 

LOVE my Stage 2.

 

[Tonysounds]

You would think that it could be easy to separate the sounds ala the Nord Electro but that has not been the case for me.

 

 

It is actually. What you have there is 6 Electros (although thats not really accurate, its more like 4 Electros and a pair of Nord Leadskinda).

 

Panel A, and Panel B each have (from left to right) an Organ Section, a Piano Section, a Synth Section, and an External Section.

 

Panel A and Panel B each have a dedicated on/off button (at the bottom of the control surface, right around middle C). If the A button lit, that Panel is active; if its dark, its inactive; if its blinking, its on (as is the other Panel), but the blinking sections control surface is not the active one, which can be rectified by pushing that blinking button. (Does that make sense? You can have Panel A and Panel B both on, and working as layers or splits, but the non-blinking but lit button is the panel whos knobs are active at that moment.)

 

So reduce it to one Panel only being on (by darkening the other Panels button). Then on the lit Panel, turn off the Organ section (again, Im at work, but I believe the on button for each section is right below its volume knob), turn off the Synth section (knob placement same as organ) and External section.

 

If the Piano section is not lit, hit its on button. Turn its volume knob up around 3:00. Go to the bottom of its section where it should say something like Instrument select, and use the button to pick the category (piano, electric piano, electric piano 2, etc.), and then use the up/down button to check out the different samples in each category. Remember that there is a button in that section that selects the dynamic range (important!), and string resonance (!).

 

It sounds way more complicated than it is, and is actually cooler than just about everybodys elses system because these things are not buried in menus, theyre all at the surface. Weve been out of that mindset for a long long time as keyboardists, but its a wonderful welcome back to the way things were when they were simpler.

 

Theyre just not as simple anymore because the Stage has a LOT of stuff right at its epidermis! But it yields maximum returns.

 

Oh.and I still havent cracked the manual except to figure out the external section.

 

[Sven Golly]

Here's Tony's post, with pretty pictures.

 

http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/small/102/ap_nordstage2_1.jpghttp://static.musiciansfriend.com/derivates/6/001/567/114/DV019_Jpg_Regular_H73461_piano_controls.jpg

 

See the button below the Level knob, marked "KB Zone Select"? Make sure that button is lit, and the same buttons in the Organ and Synth zones are NOT lit.

 

Now, below that is a selector button labelled "Type" with options Grand, Upright, E.Piano1, E.Piano2, Clavinet, and Harpsi. I'm going to leave it at that, as you should be able to figure out how THAT works. The button to the right should also be pretty obvious (once you've selected a category, the model should make sense, yes?).

 

Hope this helps.

[AnotherScott]

I think everyone is making this far more complicated than it needs to be,

 

If all you want to do is listen to the piano, simply hold down the SHIFT button (below and to the right of the LCD panel) and press the PIANO INIT button (immediately above the LCD panel). Done.

 

To change to different pianos, look in the Piano control section of the panel (part of which Sven illustrated above). The button on the bottom left will let you switch among grand pianos, uprights, EPs, etc. The button on the bottom right will let you select different pianos within the group you have selected, with the name of the piano briefly displayed in the LCD panel when you select it.

 

You will not be able to hear every piano sound Nord offers... there are many that can be downloaded form their web site, and they would not all fit in the keyboard simultaneously. But the ones that come pre-loaded will give you a good idea of the range of pianos sounds and the playability.

 

 

You would think that it could be easy to separate the sounds ala the Nord Electro but that has not been the case for me.

It may not be as different from the Nord Electro as you think. The biggest difference is, since the Electro only permits you to play one sound at a time, as soon as you enable PIANO you are simultaneously turning off ORGAN; whereas on the Stage, since you can play multiple sounds at once, that would require two button presses... one to turn on the piano, and then another to turn off the organ. Most of the time, that's the crux of the difference, and all you need to do is hit those On/Off buttons under each section's LEVEL control, as Tony and Sven illustrated.

 

However, in addition to that, the Stage can also split the keyboard into up to 3 zones, and can layer two 3-zone setups at a time... so if that kind of split or layer has been set up, you may need to turn it off, using the KB ZONES buttons for the splits and the SLOT buttons for the layers. But it's easy enough to start from a point where these splits and layers aren't turned on in the first place, if you don't want them.

 

So... to just turn the unit into "a piano" or "an organ" and start playing with its controls from scratch, the INIT function will be the fastest, easiest way to do it. Once you're actually using the instrument and want to switch between the sounds in real time, the ON/OFF buttons for each section let you do that quickly, and each "instrument" will come back on in the same state you left it. And then if you have certain setups you will want to recall, you can create recallable presets for them.

 

[Moonglow]

Panel A and Panel B each have a dedicated on/off button (at the bottom of the control surface, right around middle C). If the A button lit, that Panel is active; if its dark, its inactive; if its blinking, its on (as is the other Panel), but the blinking sections control surface is not the active one, which can be rectified by pushing that blinking button. (Does that make sense? You can have Panel A and Panel B both on, and working as layers or splits, but the non-blinking but lit button is the panel whos knobs are active at that moment.)

Tony,

 

At the risk of confusing the OP, I thought the blinking panel indicated the panel that was available for editing....but then again I have a Stage classic.

 

[Tonysounds]

As mentioned...I'm at work, so I'm working off failing memory. If the Classic works that way, then I'm sure the "2" is the same.

 

Damn job!

[LX88]

OK...I was able to access the piano sounds based on this information. Thank you for your time and help .....

 

First of all , I really like the action on this. It's a little less heavy than the Yamaha clasic " CP33" type action which really helps. It's one of the best keybeds I have ever felt.

 

From what I can tell, the sounds are definitely meant to cut in a band because of the presence of the upper harmonics. There was a lot of resonance within the tones, so I turned off the string resonance and I felt then that the tones then were a bit more focused for solo playing.

 

I will have to spend more time with it. I also like a lot of the other acoustic piano offerings that are out right now... the CP5 and the RD 700NX Super Natural acoustic sample. But the Nord is very tempting because of the light weight, good action and there seem to be some ridiculously good deals on these at this point.

 

 

 

 

[FJR]

... and there seem to be some ridiculously good deals on these at this point.

 

Can you say where you've seen the deals? I dont know how much longer I can resist the Stage 2!!

 

thanks!

[spazzkey]

wow - after everything I've read from tonysounds about the nord ap's in the past, I'd have to say you keeping your stage 2 constitutes some very high praise... coming from a classic, my gas for a 2 just went to the next level...

[dazzjazz]

My Stage 2 88 arrives in 2 days - can't wait! Will write a review here...

[gaganuga]

Wow...I'm looking forward for this rewiew!

 

Wondering about the Stage 2 vs Cp 33 Accustic Piano sound.

 

 

I got a Yamaha CP-300 and I would like to go for a lighter Stage-Piano like NS2 for playing gigs.

 

When I bought my CP300 Than I preffer to bye the CP 300 than the 1rst Nord-Stage but now NS2 must be improved her acc.pianos a lot!?

Regards